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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Four & Score & More? Coming to Grips with Obsession: Plight of a Blood Bowl Fanatic

No surprise I'm sure if you've visited this blog before: I like Blood Bowl.
Love it in fact. May be odd since I have an aversion to real Football. But the idea of Orcs, Dwarves, Ratmen & more playing a violent sport appeals to me to no end. And it seems that isn't just an expression.

You've probably seen the 'Hall of Fame' page on the blog (tab at the top) with all the Blood Bowl teams I've made in recent years. Most were for clients, but some are my own.

Last year I decided I wanted to have one of every team in the book, including the 3 supplemental teams.

That would mean 24 teams. (at minimum).

I don't get to play that often really- the local league never started up again last fall, and haven't heard any stirrings. So why the hell do I need 24 different teams?

I don't.

This isn't about Need.

This is about Greed. Pure unadulterated Want.

Lately, probably because I'm sinking low again, I've been planning projects.
The stereotype is a woman goes shopping for shoes; I plan new teams & armies and plot world domination.

In fact, some races I like so much I just might end up with more than one for it.
Why? Because of theme. Throw a new theme, different company sculpt or in fact a different 'skin' over the team concept and it can feel really different!

Like my Ape team.

I play these under a Human roster, but since I'm pushing apes around the pitch it *feels* like a team of Apes and I play it that way, so it feels different than a 'human' team.

So here's my checklist for each Blood Bowl race, if I already have a painted team, if I have a team in progress, if I have the minis but haven't started, or if I just have the idea by itself.

It'll give you (and me) an idea about what you might be seeing in the near (?) future.

AMAZONS:
(1) I have a team in progress: a couple minis painted, most primered only, of the Impact Valkyries.
This is a 'combo-team' with extra minis so I can run it as a Norse team too.
(2) I also have minis but haven't started for another amazon team. The theme is classified. Stay tuned.

CHAOS
(1) I have the beautifully sculpted new chaos team from Willy. Haven't started it. I bought extra beastmen so I can also run it as 'only hoof & horns': no chaos warriors.Because I like substandard stuff like that ;)

CHAOS DWARF
(1) My Norse Dwarf team I have plans for to give it another combo-option: 4 extra minis to run it as Chaos dwarf.
(2) I have some Rackham minis for a 'clearly evil' theme Chaos Dwarf team. Still in blisters & boxes.

DWARF
(1) My most recent team I finished for myself. The Norse Dwarf team is finished and combos as Norse and soon to be Chaos Dwarf as well.
(2) Almost forgot.. I have the Dwarf Gladiators from the Kickstarter coming too. Fun theme.

GOBLIN
(1) After the last goblin team I feel the need for my own. I have started to collect some minis for it. I was going to do a different 'skin' but changed my mind back to goblins just because goblins are so cool I must have real goblins.

HALFLING
(1) Just a plan. I want the not-yet-released Ramos 'pro-team' halflings. They just look so fun to paint!

HIGH ELF

(1) I have a team I converted from plastic GW High Elves over a year ago. I started a bit of paint, but have changed my mind, and will start over with a different paint scheme. Really looking forward to them.

HUMAN

(1) I have my finished Ape team. I love apes, so this will likely stay my 'human' team representative.

(2) I won the newest GW minis team, and have an idea for a theme with them. I'll do them someday, but will I keep them or sell them? I haven't yet decided. The Apes are so fun, not sure I will feel I must keep the actual humans.

KHEMRI

(1) Late last year I converted a team from various sources. It really 'speaks' to me. It is 'classic Ancient Egyptian Undead' so I'm looking forward to starting their paint.. someday.

LIZARDMEN

(1) One of my favorite teams I have ever painted, my 'Credence Crudwater Revilers'. I won a Best Painted award with these and just love them. Definitely among my top 'won't sell these' teams.

(2) I started converting a team of 'Stunty Skinks' from GW plastics, for more dynamic poses. But I may end up adding some Saurus to them too, since I also like their Saurus. I like lizardmen enough that yes, I do want to own 2 Lizardmen teams.

(3) Really? Yep. I have plans for another team using lizards as a 're-skin' but they'll function fine as a Lizardmen team too, so yeah.. i'll have 3 Lizardmen teams. Somebody help me.

NECROMANTIC

(1) I've made a few of these for other people, and started a team for myself. A classic monster team.

NORSE

(1) My Norse Dwarf team is done and finished.

(2) I have the Valkyrie team in progress.

NURGLE

(1) Similar to the Khemri team, I started this about the same time. But unlike the Khemri, it isn't a classic theme- it's a different theme. Classified... Stay tuned.

OGRE

(1) I have some minis for an Ogre team I got a few years ago. I shared the idea with a client and will be making a team for him, with the same theme, but different miniatures (ones he selected that appeal most to him, as it should be). So that theme will be revealed in about a month.

(2) Call me crazy. I came up with another theme idea today that I am crazy about. Well, I'm in need of pursuing my creative impulses and desires for 'new shiny' for my own emotional health, so what the hell.

But no peaking! Classified until further notice. Do I need two teams of such a hard to play frustrating team? Yes.

(1) I have a big blister of more 2nd ed. rats than I need. But I haven't started the team. I haven't decided on the color scheme yet. I'm thinking all white rats with either blue or purple uniforms. hmm.

(2) I found some other Ratmen minis that will go well with the Impact Ratmen I like so much. There are a few on the Impact team that are just amazingly fun. There are not a lot of sculpts, so I thought they'd become a 'Blood Bowl 7's' team, but with the addition of these others, they'll be a full team.

Two Skaven teams? Yes. I love Rats, and the 2 teams will have a very different look to them.

UNDEAD

(1) I ordered some minis for this team this week. It's one of the best teams, but it never really called to me. But then I stumbled across some minis that said 'Hey! I could be a Blood Bowl team!' and I replied back 'Holy Hell you're right!' This is going to be fun, and a team that for the theme I will be eager to play.

yeah yeah... Classified. Stay Tuned.

VAMPIRE

(0) Uhh... hell. I need one for the 24, but I haven't thought of anything yet. Guess I'll wait for inspiration to strike.

WOOD ELF

(1) The other 'best team' in Blood Bowl. I have a team that is a 'different skin' but pretty obviously 'wood elf'. They're even 2/3 finished. Just need the time and motivation to finish them.

CHAOS PACT

(1) Very happy and content with my 'Narnia' theme team. Fun to play too.

SLANN

(1) I have the happy kermit Greebo frogs finished. Love them. But I need to make some more for a full extended team. They're playable, but would be nice to have the extras.

UNDERWORLD

(1) I have my converted from GW plastics team. I used it in a league but it's still less than half painted.

(2) Geez.. I need a 2nd of these? When I find a good second theme I do! I had, just sitting around, all the minis I needed except for one for a gator-themed Underworld team. Just buy 1 mini for a team? Sold.

So, completed compared to incomplete, I have a lot of project time ahead of me.

I love your teams so I'm looking forward to seeing the new skinned themes immensely. Speaking as the owner of 30 painted Blood Bowl Squads covering 'the 24'sometimes twice (obviously!) and with figures unpainted for a third (or in the case of dwarves fourth when the Kickstarter Gladiators come) I get the obsession :D)

I personally hate Lizardmen, I can't really get to grips with playing against them; win, lose or draw they always cause me difficulties, and i can never roll the important three plus dodges when the chips are down and I'm playing with them. They are however one of the teams that lends itself to cool conversions so I have two of them anyway!

Its not an uncommon greed - Reilly and I share it too :-)We would have around half the teams with plans for a few more between us. The only team we have more of Orcs, which is 3 - one each plus did his own conversion team too.

So its not about want, need or greed. Its about the challenge of building all the team types, each with a different theme, and then having the options to play them. Sounds quite reasonable to me...